17 June 2022
Marks & Clerk
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It’s great to see that there is still appetite for
well-known video games to be translated into films and TV
programmes, with The Last Of Us TV show due to be launched shortly,
and now news of a film based on Gran Turismo.
However, this does illustrate the importance of adopting a
comprehensive IP and trade mark strategy in relation to new video
games. It is of course imperative for video game developers to
protect the game’s trade mark at an early stage, but protection
for merely computer software and video games is likely to be too
narrow and short-sighted. It is also important to consider how that
game may be exploited through other commercial avenues in the
future, to ensure that full advantage can be taken of other
opportunities such as film and TV tie-ins, alongside associated
merchandise such as clothing, bags, etc.
Recently we have also seen the importance of NFTs (non-fungible
tokens) in relation to video games, whether this is via the minting
of NFTs relating to avatars within the video game, rewards for
players such as avatar clothing or weapons, or even video clips of
gameplay. NFTS are also becoming increasingly relevant in relation
to subsequent film and TV adaptations, whether through funding
production of the adaptation, or through the sale of virtual
merchandise or “unlockable” NFT content.
It is therefore advisable to ensure that any trade mark
protection relating to the video game encompasses such additional
commercial activities that may flow from a successful video game.
In particular, express registered trade mark protection for goods
and services such as downloadable media, films, video content, NFTs
and virtual assets should be considered as part of the trade mark
strategy adopted.
PlayStation certainly haven’t been wasting their time
translating their games into other mediums lately.
www.videogamer.com/…
The content of this article is intended to provide a general
guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought
about your specific circumstances.
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